Koimeterion 1 - Mexican Irish Cemetery Exhibition

Internationally celebrated Mexican artist, Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo, will premiere his photographic exhibition, Koimeterion I, in Dublin next week.  The exhibition, a series of black and white images of Irish and Mexican cemeteries, from Ballinspittle, Co Cork to Chahue, Oaxaca, reflects two different cultures, deeply grounded in their celebrations of death, capturing funeral architecture and the celebratory nature of cemeteries in Ireland and Mexico.   

Born in Mexico, Alejandro divides his time between Rome and Mexico City.  He studied photography at the École Nationale de Photographie of Arles in France and at the International Centre of Photography of New York.  His work has been exhibited worldwide in museums, galleries, art fairs and festivals, and now belongs to several private and public collections across the globe.

The vernissage will take place on Tuesday November 3rd and will be followed by a Shamanic Keening Ceremony facilitated by Slí an Chroí and National Grieving Day, giving the audience the opportunity to release their own personal sadness, tears and grief.  The ancient tradition of Keening, where professional crying women lead a community’s mourning during Irish wakes, has been revived into a key therapeutic activity by Slí an Chroí.  Both events are free and open to the public.

DCU’s Jean-Philippe Imbert who has curated the exhibition explained the significance of the venue for the event,

“The reason for choosing the Octagonal Room of Assembly House, built in the 1760s for the display of works by major Irish artists of the time, is to celebrate the ever-renewing nature of art and to celebrate the role of the building as a perennial conveyor of ongoing cultural and artistic regenerations for Dublin.  As Georgian Society was a turning point in the narrative of the cultural development of Ireland, so cemeteries are a turning point in the journey of humanity towards the next step of their destiny, and art serves as a facilitating threshold to accompany this journey.”

The exhibition will be on view to the public in the Irish Georgian Society, Assembly House, 58 South William Street, Dublin 2 from November 3 to November 13, between 2pm and 6pm.